Tag Archives: education

Random thoughts – keeping you on your toes

Keep on Learning

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Is a post secondary education degree worth attaining after retirement?  As a proponent of life long learning my opinion is a resounding yes.

Using the degree to support your own employment aspirations is an unlikely objective (although possible) in the case of entering a degree granting program in the latter part of your life.   Still though there is value in just the opportunity for knowledge growth.

Learning Opportunities are Endless

The value in gaining new (i.e., previously unknown to you) facts, information, and skills  through experience or formal education to enhance your theoretical or practical understanding of a subject does not stop until you die.

Learning can have both a direct value and an indirect one.  On the direct side for example enhanced skills can form the foundation for improved work and compensation opportunities.

The indirect benefits are harder to quantify but just as impactful if perhaps not even more so than the obvious gains associated with an enhanced work environment.  Keeping your brain healthy will enhance and elongate your life yet it is not fully measurable.

Effort Required

The most common description I hear about peoples retirement aspirations is “take it easy, relax, enjoy yourself”.  While learning can require significant effort it also can be fun, relaxing and enjoyable.

In fact even the most common retirement activities like golfing, fishing or playing games (like chess)require skill.  To continually improve and hopefully enjoy the “play” more constant learning is needed.

Post retirement formal degree focused education does not have the same win or lose attributes associated with it as when you are younger and can be just as much fun  (depending on your attitude perhaps more fun) as the more traditional retirement activities.

Give it a try, you may be surprised.

Random thoughts – keeping you on your toes

Education for all

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With the growing expanding scope of Massively Open On line courses you can study almost anything for no cost.  This education is of value to you personally as a way to enhance your knowledge and skills.

So far, the impact on your employment/ carreer is relatively negligible.  Organizations still look at the documented degree or certificate as the value piece.

If an institution with a recognized brand (e.g. Harvard) issues you a degree or certification it can be leveraged to raise your professional standing.

If you take a free series of on line courses, which were created by the same recognized institution (and are the same as those taken by the paying students) , you obtain the knowledge and skills, but not the certificate.

Sadly without the documentation, the free learning won’t earn you more status or money, but the knowledge is what counts, right.

Business Model

Post secondary education is a big business in most countries we classify as developed and just a important in all the other areas of the world but generates less revenue in the less developed regions as there is less funding available.

Free education, in regions with less money to allocate to education works in providing skill and knowledge that get put to use by the populous whether that can prove it with a piece of paper.

The action is the proof.  If you have the skill and put it to use, how you got it and being certified as having it are not critical factors.

Education for the public good

Over time we can only hope that education will migrate from a profit model to focus on improving the human condition, worldwide.  It’s a dream.

Random thoughts – keeping you on your toes

Graduation Day

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Every year men and women (mostly young from my perspective) receive graduate and post graduate degrees in recognition of their scholarly accomplishments.

Degree is simply reference to the level of education and is always accompanied by the associated qualifier.  Bachelor degree being the basic level, Masters next and topped by a doctorate.

Others forms of scholarly recognition come in the form of professional degrees (e.g., LLB) or an academic certification.  Combinations of degrees and certificates are common.

Attending the Ceremony

My wife and I were fortunate enough to attend four regular degree granting ceromonies and two professional certifications for our chlidren.  We missed one masters degree ceromony and one professional degree granting.

Today a collegue was presented (granted) his Masters of Business administration.  I did not attend the ceromony but did show up for pictures opportunities afterward.

Don’t get me wrong, sitting in hot stuffy halls for an hour of speeches followed by graduates recieving their degrees one by one is a lot of fun, but after six times I decided to take a pass.

Historical Significance

European universities and colleges initiated the degree granting process and it has circled the world and virtually every country follows the basic practices started by the traditional European  medieval institutions.

At first Christian authorities controlled the degree granting process but this gradually  morphed to institutional control with government beuracracy close at hand ( of course)

Given the level of adoption, worldwide, the system probably works.  At least, it stands on it’s own merits.